Machine for forming sheet-metal lathing



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

J'. WEIOHHART. MACHINE FOR FORMING SHEET METAL LATHING.

No. 401,523. Patented Apr. 16, 188 9.

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J. WEIOHHART.

MACHINE FOR FORMING SHEET METAL LATHING. .No. 401,523. Patented Apr. 16, 1889*.

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N ITE I STATES PATENT rrrcn.

MACHINE FOR FORMING SHEET-METAL LATHING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 401,523, dated April 16, 1889.

Application filed April 18, 1887. Serial No. 235,256. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern: Be it known that 1, JOHN WnIcHHARr, a citizen of the United States, residing at San Francisco, in the county of San Francisco and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines for Forming Sheet-Metal Lathing; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of my said invention, reference being had to the drawings that aecompany and form part of this specification.

My invention relates to improvements in machines for crimping or bending sheet metal in the manufacture of metal lathin g; and it consists in novel construction and combination of parts and mechanism, as hereinafter particularly described, producing a machine for giving the finished dovetail form to plates or sheets of metal that have been previously corrugated by another machine which I have By the conjoint action of these two machines dovetail grooves or corrugations are formed in sheets of metal for the production of metal lathing. In the first operation the sheet is bent into regular rectangular corrugations, and these are afterward crimped or upset by means of the hereinafterdescribed mechanism to give the required dovetail form.

Referring to the accompanyingdrawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a machine constructed according to my invention. Fig. 2 is a plan of the stationary bed or frame and the sliding carriage that carries and presents the sheet to the crimping mechanism. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section through the crimping mechanism, bed, and carriage. Figs. 4 and 5 are views in detail of the mechanism that operates the crimping-jaws. Fig. (3 is a view taken from the right-hand side of Fig. 5. Figs. 7 and 8 are sectional views of themetal lathing before and after having been acted upon by this machine.

This machine is intended for use more particularly in conjunction with another machine of my own invention for the manufacture of metal lathing in sheets or strips, and that machine, having certain points and features of novelty, has been made the subject of a separate application for Letters Patent, Serial No. 235,255, filed in the Patent Otlice at the same time with the present application. In

.that machine the metal receives itsfirst form of rectangular corrugations, as illustrated in Fig. 7, and by the operation of the machine which forms the subject-matter of this application the corrugations are bent into dovetail form, as shown in Fig. 8 of the drawings.

A A represent a bed of framed timbers, and A A uprights to support and elevate it above the floor.

B is a sliding carriage movable in guides or ways I) b, provided for it along the sides of the bed from end to end.

A raek-and-pinion feed is employed to move the carriage step by step under the crimping mechanism, and this movement is produced from a continuously-rotating shaft,

.0, below the bed by means of a pawl and ratchet wheel and suitable intermediate gearing to secure the required rate of speed. The shaft 0 has a pulley to take a drivingbelt from a shaft outside, and it gives motion to a shaft, D, through the medium of spurgears E E G are racks on the carriage, one on the bottom of each side rail, and H is a spur-gear that engages with it.

H H are gears connecting the gear H with the ratchet-wheel shaft H The ratchetwheel I is moved by the lever J and springpawl J and the crank K and rod K The crank K is movable in the socket D and capable of being fixed at any desired pointby any suitable means-as, for instance, a set-screw, (V, as shown in Fig. 5. These parts are seen in Figs. 1. and 3. The crimping or bending of the rectangular. corrugations is done by mechanism consisting of two hinged jaws, M M, attached at the top by hinged joints m m to a reciprocating cross-head, N, movable vertically in the guide-frame A A that sets across the bed and over the carriage, as seen in Figs. 1 and The vertical move ment of the cross-l1ead is produced by a crank, D and connecting-rod, D-, at each side of the machine. The movement of the crosshead is so timed With respect to the carriagefeed that at each stop in the movement of the carriage the jaws M are brought down upon the sheet in position to grasp a corrugation between them, and after the jaws have acted the cross-head is raised to clear the sheet.

It will be noticed that in this operation the length of feed is be determined by the size of-the corrugations, as it is necessary to bring a groove directly under and in line with each jaw, so that when the cross-head descends the corrugated portion of the sheet between these grooves shall lie between the jaws.

Details of the construction of these jaws and the means employed to close and open them 'are clearly shown in Figs. 3 to 6, inclusive.

The cross-head N has knuckles m to receive a rod, 79 which passes through knuckles mon the jaws to form a hinged connection. The acting faces of the jaws are shaped as shown in Fig. 5, so that when brought together the space left between them has the dovetail form.

Fig. 3 represents the jaws closed upon the sheet, and Fig. 5 shows them open.

The movements on the hinges are produced by the opposing action of surface-cams bearing against the outside faces of the jaws to press them together and springs to throw them apart. The cams R R are mounted on the shafts S, having gears TT on the outer ends, and a double rack, T ,Working between the gears, produces rotary movement first in one direction to bring the cams against thejaws and then backward to release the jaws. The rack T is actuated by a connecting-rod, t, and crank-pin U on the face of the gear U, Figs. l and at, which is driven by the gear on the shaft D. ments of the crimping-jaws are derived from the two cranks D U The movement of the jaws in opening to release the work is limited by the stops Y Y, Fig. 5.

The machine constructed in this manner operates as follows: The carriage B is drawn back to the end of the bed, and the sheet metal previously formed in the other machine before mentioned is laid on the carriage, and the feed is thrown into gear. By the intermittent movement then given to it the carriage brings the corrugations one after another into line with the crirnpingjaws. Then, by the movements imparted to them, as before described, the jaws descend first in an open or separated position, and as a corrugation is seized between them they are pressed toward each other with sufficient force to punch or set in the lower part of the cor- It will thus be seen that both move-v claim,and desire to secure by Letters Patent,

1. In combination with the horizontallymoving carriage adapted to present and feed a sheet of metal step by step, the crimpingjaws M M, movable cross-head N, the cranks and connecting-rods, and the cams and actuating mechanism consisting of the gears T T, double rack T connecting-rod t, and crankdisk U, substantially as described.

2. In a machine for crimping metal for the manufacture of corrugated metal lathing, the hinged jaws placed for operation, as described, over a traveling work-holdin g bed or carriage, and having vertical movement to engage with and to clear the work, the cams R R, rotary cranledisk U, gears T T, reciprocating rack T and connecting-rod t, as a means for pressing the jaws together against the rack, substantially as described.

3. The herein-described machine for crimping sheet metal, consisting of a suitable bed or frame, AA, traveling carriage B, having intermittent movement at spaced intervals, the feeding mechanism, and means for operating the same, consisting of a ratchet, apawl working thereon, pivoted arm, a connectingrod attached to said arm at one end and to a crank at the other on the continuously-rotatin g shaft D, cross-head N, carrying hinged crimping-jaws, the actuating-crank T connectingrod D the oam-shafts, cams, gears, racks, and crank-disk U, constructed and combined for operation as set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand and seal.

JOHN \VEICHHART.

WVitn ess es:

0. W. M. SMITH, CHAS. E. KELLY. 

